Domestic Bliss

And THEN we followed our handy-dandy map over to Main St. in Mesa to a place I had found through bloggy connections...Domestic Bliss. This place is practically edible. Not just another crafts boutique, though. How often I have visited such places and thought, oh I could make that myself, if only I had the time...and the materials, and the talent. Get this: Domestic Bliss the boutique is adjacent to Blissful Living Studio, which is an adorable workshop where you can register to attend classes for everything from vintage aprons to blog embellishment. Membership is available, or you can choose classes a la carte. Their site has a marvelous blog of its own with links to their instructors' blogs. Check it out!

The Heard Museum

The Heard Museum is amazing. Hall after hall of Native American artwork. Testimonials that are almost too heartbreaking to bear. More tribes than I had ever known of. And where was I when the Indian Schools were mentioned in history class? I think they were mysteriously omitted in our textbooks. Let's move on. I feel a homeschooling rant coming on.

All of this was perfect inspiration for the trip that the kids and I are going on with a church group to a reservation in New Mexico this August. We hope to serve the people there, learn about their lives and beliefs, and earn the privilege of sharing ours. As an aside, we appreciate any prayers for the many resources and finances that need to be gathered for this adventure. We will be shipping a week's worth of teaching materials and crafts to presented to children in various venues and may not have much advance notice of exactly where we will be and how many children might attend. Lots of logistical and training matters need tending to between now and then.

Can't wait to see it all come together!

In the Heard Museum shop I couldn't resist an out-of-print book entitled "Presbyterian Attitudes Toward The Native Americans:18__-1879." A little light reading ...it may or may not be applicable...I'll let you know!

Meanwhile, M. had a blast spending every penny of his remaining birthday money on a talking stick, a mallet, a t-shirt, and some books. He wanted this sheep for his big sis the sheep freak, but acknowledged that it wouldn't squeeze into his suitcase.

The Phoenix Zoo

M.'s favorite place for sure.
Up close with the monkeys!

So blessed to spend a day with this sweet boy. He talked at length and with an air of authority about every animal in sight and at times laughed out loud at himself. I'm not even sure that he needed me there other than to pay for the camel ride, but it was fun to tag along.

Color Fix

The Banker was off to his meetings to do what bankers do, and M and I zipped off to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. So nice of them to arrange to have an exhibit of my favorite glass artist, Dale Chihuly's work set throughout the gardens. Could not believe it. Too perfect to be coincidence. Where did I just hear the quote that coincidence is simply when God chooses to remain anonymous? Delightful.

On Our Way

We did make it through security after all! It takes a village for us to get away without all of the kids. No less than 10 of our friends looked after the kiddoes at some point during our trip. We have great friends- thanks everybody!
Once we arrived at the airport, we settled in with breakfast and had a little visit with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell who shared our flight on his way to the NBA championship game. A great flight, in spite of the fact that the battery on M's dvd player failed to charge the night before. The novelty of cloud-watching satisfied him for most of the trip. That, and a soda from the flight attendant's cart.

Before posting our time in Phoenix, I have to introduce another

Susan. She is Aunt Susan to most of us here at the Pink Victorian and she is one of a kind. She and Uncle Paul live in the Northeast but are meant to be somewhere in the Southwest...New Mexico, maybe Sedona. She is regularly decorated with her collection of exquisite Native American jewelry, and the exterior of her townhouse should be coated in adobe to compliment the interior and she is also perfectly comfortable visiting with a nephew's bearded dragon; another desert dweller. She makes routine pilgrimages to the West, but is in need of a good dose of red rock and sunshine after a challenging Yankee winter and a nasty bout of bronchitis. Thus the ABUNDANT vacation photos to follow.

M. used every bit of his b-day check from Uncle Paul and Aunt Susan at the gift shop of the Heard Museum in Phoenix. She must be very pleased. Thanks Aunt Susan! Hope the vicarious vacation does your heart good.

Wild Goose Chase

It was a brilliant idea. Or it would have been. We were wanting to do something creative this Valentines Day for a set of Floridian grandparents who abandon us for sunnier climes each autumn and return in the spring when the weather here is more to their liking. Snowbirds. A few days before the holiday we were on our way home from piano lessons and passed a field covered with at least a thousand large, white snow geese making a migratory pit stop. We hurried home for the camera, quickly cut out red paper hearts for the boys to hold up in front of the massive flock. I would snap the clever pose and post it with the caption "We Love Snowbirds!". Problem. In the brief time that it took us to fetch our props, the entire bunch of birds vanished. Gone. I'm talking about a thousand birds or more. We drove around thinking they must be SOMEWHERE nearby, but not a snow goose was to be found. What we did find was a pitiful scraggly flock of winter starved turkeys. If you squint, you can see that a couple of them were even attempting to mate. No snowbirds, just passionate turkeys. We tried.

We Love Snowbirds!

Eek!! I really have neglected the poor blog! I'm hoping to do a quick catch-up before another little hiatus while I am in Phoenix next week. It's been the busiest January we've had in a few years.

M. has already packed his little suitcase in anticipation of his flight west. I think Homeland Security might object to the plastic rifle butt sticking out of his carry-on. And he packed more clothing for his Build-A-Bear puppy dog than he did for himself. His other must-haves? A bathing suit and his favorite pj's. We're off to the convenience store for the main reason he loves to fly: bubblegum!

A Penny Saved $$$

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I recently discovered a couple of really good sites by women with financial savvy that are worth mentioning:

bargainshopperlady.com has frequently-posted shopping hints and coupon codes. I saved a lot on a big order at Coldwater Creek last month, thanks to her.

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I also like halfpriceliving.blogspot.com. This blog by author Ellie Kay looks like it has more practical financial planning insights than many I've seen.

Get Saving!

Into the Fray

To this point this has been a benign little blog primarily about comings and goings at The Pink Victorian. I have avoided political controversy and tempered my parenting ideals with reality. Today I will cautiously raise a topic for discussion which is apparently a very volatile matter, for the sake of gaining understanding and becoming a better peacemaker. To protect the children involved, I will call it the

Organic Oatmeal Issue.

Let me explain:
The holiday season was peppered with citations by my contacts, which are many, and of multiple generations, that Christmas gift-giving and receiving has become more manipulative than loving, especially when the recipients are young children. Instead of a gift being a surprise for all present during its unwrapping, lengthy negotiations are held long before the day about the acceptability of the gift or oblique threats are made that certain forbidden items might be revealed at the foot of the tree just for spite.
For example, a grandparent receives notice that only unpainted toys are to be given to the grandchildren, presumably to eliminate the risk of lead paint; or a father-in-law hints that he is wrapping a cap gun for little Jimmy for the sake of his developing manhood, fully knowing that Daddy and Mommy don't intend for Jimmy to play with artificial firearms. Power Rangers dvds are given to children who don't watch TV and parents retaliate by enforcing their ban on red dye #40, only to have Christmas M&M's added to their organic oatmeal...you get the idea.
I am curious. Is it just me or has gift giving become territorial? What do you think? Are parents at the mercy of the mandates of Christmas Morning Magic and impotent to confiscate the contraband? Are they asserting their rules and convictions out of a sense of insecurity in breaking away from the ways of their upbringing? Is this a subtle rebellion with the offspring being used as weapons? Are grandparents today of the mistaken notion that they are co-parents with equal jurisdiction over the kiddoes? Have parents abused the luxury of the innate quality low-cost childcare to the point that the lines between parent and child have been blurred? Do they fail to "leave and cleave"? Are the grandparents just so limited in quality time and desparate to be the "favorite" that they are willing to undermine the authority of the parents? Do they feel unappreciated for all that they feel they have already given? And perhaps most importantly, have we become so child-centered that little Jimmy's Christmas morning bliss is the objective and pinnacle of the holiday season? I am curious.
What are the potential solutions to this problem which lies dormant year-round but is one more thing that internally threatens the family, which is already under seige from external forces?

What say you?

****DISCLAIMER: I reiterate that this post is strictly for informational and discussion purposes. Let's keep it clean, folks. And please know that I can only speak of other families' challenges vicariously because my children and their cousins have four utterly perfect grandparents who would never, say, let a 2 year old watch STAR WARS because, well, he wanted to. I'm just sayin'.